JOHOR BARU, July 1— A total of 42,416 or 17.07 per cent of Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) tags for individual private vehicles registered in Singapore had yet to be activated as of June 29, despite the full enforcement of the system beginning today.
Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said that based on statistics, a total of 248,504 VEP Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags had been issued to individual private vehicles, while another 3,765 tags were issued to company-owned vehicles.
“Of that total, 206,088 or 82.93 per cent of tags for individual private vehicles have been activated, while all tags for company private vehicles have been fully activated.
“The total number of applications (pre-registration) for company private vehicles as of June 29 is 19,690,” he told a press conference after the VEP Enforcement Special Operation near the Sultan Iskandar Building, here early today. Also present was Johor JPJ director Azmil Zainal Adnan.
According to him, full enforcement began at 12.01 today, with inspections on Singapore-registered vehicles that did not register or activate the VEP when entering Malaysia.
“A total of 55 JPJ personnel were deployed in the operation, with enforcement focused on foreign vehicles that have not yet been registered with VEP. For now, other summonses such as outstanding JPJ or police summonses are still being waived,” he said.
Aedy Fadly said the main focus at the moment was to ensure that all vehicle owners activate their VEP tags.
He said owners of Singapore-registered vehicles who fail to activate their tags will be charged a RM300 compound under Section 66H(7) of the Road Transport Act 1987 and will not be allowed to leave Malaysia until the compound is paid and the VEP is activated.
“JPJ has also provided mobile units at enforcement locations to make it easier for vehicle owners to resolve their compounds and activate their tags immediately,” he said.
For the moment, he said, VEP enforcement will currently be carried out periodically at strategic locations where foreign vehicles are concentrated in Johor, before being expanded to other states.
Aedy Fadly also called on all Singaporean registered vehicle owners to immediately register, install and activate the VEP tag to avoid any inconvenience when entering or exiting Malaysia.
“We welcome the presence of Singaporeans in this country. Generally, they comply with the rules, but there are still a few who have not registered and activated the VEP,” he said, adding that the VEP centre in Danga Bay is operating 24 hours to make it easier for Singaporean vehicle owners to obtain and activate the tag.
Meanwhile, a private worker from Singapore, Muhammad Zulhadis Zulkeplie, 37, said he had applied for VEP registration since mid-May but was still waiting for confirmation.
“I know enforcement started today, but I think there is no problem because I have already applied. My advice to Singaporeans, follow the procedure, and if you are not sure, ask the authorities,” he said when met while waiting for his turn to pay the compound at the JPJ Mobile Van. — Bernama